Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo

Contrary to many of the reviews, I think this is one of the best Charlie Chan movies and one of my my personal favorites. It's wonderfully escapist, taking place as it does, in a fabled location over 70 years ago.

The plot is a bit more sophisticated than many of the Chan films - no cigarettes that cause one to drop dead after one puff or poison gasses fabricated by Hollywood writers. The plot remains true to reality as valuable bonds pass from one set of slippery hands to another causing the murder of two people.

The production is stylish and most of the actors do a great job. The hyperactive, super energetic #1 son is only minimally so in this film, however Harold Huber as the chief of police overdoes himself in his brash and noisy performance. He is on camera almost as much as Chan and quickly becomes an irritant. His French accented English is almost as bad as his Brooklyn accented French.

Interestingly, all of the French characters speak French in the film - something one might expect in an art house film, but hardly in a B-movie. It certainly lends an air of authenticity but might be detracting to those who have not studied French.

Automobiles of the era play a big part in the film, the star vehicle being the gorgeous Rolls convertible that is featured in several scenes. There are many scenes of various cars - from beat-up taxis to limos fit for a king. (Watch the limo that pulls up to Karnoff's villa to pick up the bank messenger.) Also it seems that the police ride around in convertibles in Monaco!

As usual, Charlie and Number One Son are visiting when coincidentally there are murders. This time they seem to have something to do with stolen securities which seem to vanish and re-appear like magic. Unlike many of the films, though, Chan and Son seem to be caught up more in the action instead of passively investigating after the fact.

Many of the reviews seem to feel this is one of the weakest of the Warner Oland Charlie Chan films, though I liked it quite a bit and felt it stacked up well with the earlier films from the series. Why did I like it? Well, the stolen bonds angle seemed pretty interesting, Harold Huber (who had just played a New York police inspector in CHARLIE CHAN ON Broadway) was pretty good as a French cop and the film certainly kept my attention. It's not great, but still is a very competent part of a series of excellent and enjoyable detective films and a cut above similar series.

This film has the reputation to be very delightful in the Charlie Chan series. Well, maybe, I don't deny, I am not fan enough, but if you crave for this detective film series from the forties and thirties, you will appreciate of course. I did not particularly, because I am not sensitive enough to this atmosphere of talkings. So far, our Chinese detective has never been investigating in a casino, which is a very specific atmosphere, the gambling settings very special, providing many elements for a good mystery scheme. This film is produced by Twentieth Century Fox, the genuine production company of the series before it becomes Monogram Film Corporation.

Charlie and Lee once again find themselves in foreign territory (he doesn't seem to spend much time with the rest of his family). The get a look at one of the gambling hot spots of the world. Soon they are wrapped up in the intrigue between two very rich men who hate each other. There is a murder on a country road as they walk to their hotel (the taxi they have take breaks down). A woman in a fancy car is seen driving away. The two men and two women, along with a bartender, become embroiled in the transfer of a million dollars in metallurgical bonds. As is usually the case in these episodes, there are multiple efforts at coverups by the principles. It would seem that the more playing with the facts these guys attempt, the more Chan becomes suspicious. There are also the scenes where loudmouthed number one son is always a half step behind his honorable father. There is also some great stuff as Junior tries to speak French. At one point he confesses to murder with his poor use of the language. Charlie asks him at breakfast if he can order something without getting them thrown in jail. It is my understanding that Oland died shortly after the completion of this movie. That is why Sidney Toler took over the role. I saw all the Chan movies as a boy and am rediscovering them now. I hope that the remainder of the canon is as entertaining.

When Charlie and son Lee stay at Monte Carlo for an art exhibition (Lee's become a painter now), naturally they also visit the famous casino; where we soon get to know two exchange sharks, Gordon Karnoff and Paul Savarin, 'fighting' grimly even at a game of Baccara, while at the same time, Karnoff's wife Joan is in a tight spot: she took some of his metallurgic bonds out of his safe and for some strange reason gave them to bartender Al Rogers - and Karnoff intends to send those bonds to the stock market that same night to be sold, which would mean enormous losses for Savarin. She manages to recover the bonds, and her brother Gordon, Karnoff's secretary, places them back in the safe with the others, and so, after being checked, they're all sent by car to France. But when Charlie and Lee happen to come along that same road, they find the car stopped, the courier murdered, and the chauffeur missing...

So, eagerly, Monsieur Joubert from the Monaco police takes on the case - but very soon, he's in despair: the chauffeur is also found murdered, and literally everybody involved in the whole affair could be guilty: Savarin of course, who on top of it all was seen with pretty young Evelyn (who over the past few months suddenly became a rich socialite from the humble model she was before) near the scene of the crime, Joan and the mysterious bartender, her brother Gordon who had access to all of Karnoff's papers - and even Karnoff himself, because very soon the fact is revealed that those bonds were of course insured. A VERY hard nut to crack for Joubert! But Lee has got an even bigger difficulty to cope with: the French language, which he's supposed to have learned at college... Once his desperate tries to express himself correctly even get him and his father into jail on a murder charge! So there are Lee and Joubert to provide the comical elements, while Charlie's calm reasoning finally leads to the capture of the murderer; not the most ingenious of plots, but some very fine performances, and of course some VERY wise philosophical remarks of our Chinese master sleuth...

This is the last 'Charlie Chan' movie starring Warner Oland, because unfortunately he died just a few months later. But we shall never forget that he left to the world 16 MAGNIFICENT performances, which would forever shape the character of our favorite Asian detective - and which will live on for generations and generations to enjoy.